Greene, the former Steelers great who retired earlier this month from a position in Pittsburgh’s front office, said he hasn’t seen Fairley play much since leaving Auburn in 2011 but is a big fan of Fairley’s partner on the Lions’ defensive line, Ndamukong Suh.

“He is a powerful man,” Greene said. “Unfortunately for him is that he’s letting some of this notoriety and publicity get in his head a little bit. By that I mean it changes the way he approaches the game, cause if he changes that he’s not Ndamukong anymore. And you need an edge to play in the pit. Anybody that talks about what you shouldn’t do hasn’t been in there.

“I think you have to play the game the way he does, but not go over the edge. A couple times he went over the edge, and he shouldn’t be afraid of that.”

Suh was suspended two games in 2011 for stomping on the arm of Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith and fined $30,000 for kicking Texans quarterback Matt Schaub in the groin last year, but he’s largely eliminated the personal-foul problems that plagued him his first two seasons.

Last year, Suh finished second on the Lions with eight sacks — double his 2011 total, but not quite on par with his 10-sack rookie season — while Fairley had 5½ in 13 games.

Greene said Suh is beginning to strike a balance with nasty play that doesn’t cross the line.

“I know that when the public gets involved and the talking heads get involved and they talk about something they don’t have any idea about — it’s nice and air conditioned where they’re sitting,” Greene said. “So he can’t let other voices dictate how he plays.”

I think Mean Joe has said this same thing every year about Suh. He seems like a big fan of how Suh plays and what he can do. Hopefully Suh is able to find that perfect balance of nasty without going over the edge this year.